Steve Cooper Admits Mitrovic Masterclass Is What Swans Are Lacking

Steve Cooper admitted his Swansea City side paid a heavy price for not taking their chances as they lost for the fourth time in their last five matches at the Liberty Stadium.

Two goals from Aleksandar Mitrovic in the first-half, meant a reply from George Byers just after the hour mark was not enough to prevent Fulham earning a 2-1 victory.

The Swans were much improved from their awful display last weekend in defeat to Millwall – they could hardly have been much worse – but they could not prevent a fifth home defeat of the season, all of which have come in their last seven games.

Fulham are one of the strongest sides in the Championship and it’s hardly a surprise that Mitrovic should have maintained his remarkable recent scoring sequence, but the Swans had plenty of chances to score before the Serbian opened his account midway through the first-half.

“In terms of the chances we created and the performance level, maybe we deserved more,” said Cooper.

“But we have not taken the chances and given away – particularly the second goal – a poor goal.

“We know Mitrovic plays up front for them, and he does not miss those chances, but we have given him the opportunity.

“It’s a frustrating night, no doubt about that. But I thought it was our best performance for a while and that’s why we are frustrated not to get a draw.

“When you concede two goals at home you are asking for a bit of trouble. We played some good football and created a lot more chances than we have done previously here.

“That was an objective. We know we have not won enough games here at home.”

Serbian Mitrovic struck twice in the first-half to give him 23 goals in as many games for club and country this season, including seven in his last five matches.

Swansea pulled a goal back through George Byers, and pressed hard for an equaliser, but their damaging home record is undermining their own promotion ambitions as they have taken just four points from a possible 21 in their last seven games at the Liberty Stadium.

It might have been a different story if Sam Surridge had scored early on when he was given a golden opportunity.

Andre Ayew’s exquisite cross set up the striker but his point blank effort was saved by Marek Rodak.

Cooper added: “It was a chance you would expect him to score, but I thought he did a lot of good things in his first start in the league here and we will keep working with him and keep believing in him, as we will all the players.

“I’m sure if another one comes along, he will aiming to put it in. He is not lacking confidence but maybe now is the time to give him a run in the team.

“He was a handful and he was there for the chances he missed, which is not a bad trait. He has scored goals, it is a step up for him in terms of playing in the Championship, but we keep going.

“We know where we are at as a club. We came up against a team who could compete in the Premier League, certainly with the investment that has gone into their squad is a Premier League budget and we made them look ordinary on so many occasions.

“So it’s not a massive level playing field in terms of finances, but in terms of football and chances we did well.”

What Swansea lacked was the assurance of a cold-eyed goalscorer, of the type Fulham have in Mitrovic who calmly gave Fulham a 21st minute lead with his team’s first genuine opportunity.

The Serbian’s nonchalance – as he headed home after Aboubakar Kamara’s shot had struck the bar following a cross from Joe Bryan – typified a striker in reliable form.

Swansea responded and Byers forced Rodak into a save, but it was not long before Mitrovic plundered his second goal.

A wiser team would not have left Mitrovic free at the far post, but then Swansea created their own misfortune when Peterson needlessly gave the ball away, allowing Josh Onomah and Ivan Cavaleiro to combine. When Cavaleiro rolled the ball across, Mitrovic took time to steady himself before sweeping a shot high into the net.

Fulham might easily have increased their lead after the break, although they also needed Rodak to make another good save to deny Byers.

But the midfielder finally pulled a goal back for Swansea when he headed home Barrie McKay’s cross in the 65th minute after the substitute’s initial delivery had rebounded from a defensive wall.

Recent Posts

Ashton Hewitt has thanked those who have supported his backing for the Black Lives matter campaign and the revelations over his own experiences of racism in Wales. The Dragons wing – who was called up to train with Wales during this season’s Six Nations – gave a revealing account of his encounters with police as a black rugby player. His interview with the South Wales Argus and other media led to a huge reaction and also provoked debate with fellow former Dragons star Andrew Coombs, who accused protestors in London of violence towards the police.

Robert Jones cherishes each one of his 54 Wales and three British and Irish Lions caps. But the proud son of Trebanos says that Swansea’s 1992 triumph over then World Cup holders Australia means more to him than his victories in a red jersey. The scrum-half played 286 times for the Whites between 1983 and 2002, and was wearing the No.9 shirt when the Wallabies paid a visit to St Helen’s on 4 November 1992. The match will be re-lived on S4C’s Clwb Rygbi, at 6.15pm on Saturday 6 June, and will also be available to watch on S4C Clic and BBC iPlayer after broadcast.

Elite sport is slowly returning. Some, like professional football, are preparing to resume competition, but for most it’s about small steps to resume training. But while some sports get on to their starting blocks, others are still waiting outside the stadium – and there is also a difference between Wales and England, as Sport Wales CEO Brian Davies tells Graham Thomas. Sport Wales acting chief executive Brian Davies insists the country’s top athletes will not get left behind their rivals in the race to be ready again for major competitions. Welsh elite athletes in all sports are still waiting for a green light to resume training as some of the lockdown restrictions start to ease across other parts of the UK.

Canadian centre Stephen Dixon is Cardiff Devils’ third import signing for the 2020-21 Elite League ice hockey season. Dixon followed captain Joey Martin and Joey Haddad in committing to the Devils again and there will be more player announcements over the next few weeks. “I’ve enjoyed my time in Cardiff,” said the man from Halifax in Nova Scotia. “Devils are a quality organisation from top to bottom. We have a great group of guys and great fans.”

It was the game that rescued the career of Shane Williams – Wales v New Zealand in the pool stages of the 2003 World Cup. Before the tournament, it looked as if the player who would go on to become Wales’ greatest try-scorer might not even make the plane. He did – just – as a utility third scrum-half and back-up wing.
Tonight, 17 years on, the game is being replayed and re-assessed on S4C where Williams watches the 53-37 defeat for the first time since that day in Sydney . . .